


Child's Play

by Bettybackintheday



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bettybackintheday/pseuds/Bettybackintheday
Summary: Clint and Laura are doing the best they can to get things back to normal for their children. Everyone knows something (someone) is missing. When the Barton kids set their minds to something, they go straight to the top. They'll stop at nothing to make their family whole again. Dimension-hopping, time-heisting, and breaking curfew? Whatever it takes. ("PG" for language; Endgame compliant; Fix-it of sorts)





	Child's Play

**Author's Note:**

  * For [why_didnt_i_get_any_soup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup/gifts).



CHILDS PLAY

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah, Nate?”

“Which star is Vormir?”

For months Clint Barton spent his evenings alone out in the open field pondering the same question. And many, many others. He needed to be out here with the stars, to be closer to her. Sometimes it felt like she was sitting right next to him. It was comforting and heartbreaking. Tonight was the first time any of his children asked to join him. 

“I don’t know, buddy,” he replied as his eyes instantly burned with tears.

After a few moments of silence, Nate cautiously continued. “Mom said we shouldn’t ask you anything about Vormir. That you don’t like talking about it. That it makes you sad.”

Clint reached over and took his son’s hand. “It does make me sad. It makes everybody sad. But, if you want to talk about it, if it will help you feel better, I want you to ask me anything. Ok?”

Nate breathed a heavy sigh. “Ok. I don’t think it’ll make me feel better, but we need to know as much as we can so we can work on bringing Auntie Nat back.”

Clint’s breath hitched in his throat and he felt a sudden tightness in his chest. Cooper and Lila understood, as much as anyone can, the finality of death. He and Laura thought they’d done a good job explaining death to Nate. So much for that parenting win.

“Nate, we talked about this. Auntie Nat is in Heaven. She’s with Tony and they’re keeping each other company,” Clint said firmly. He wondered who he was trying harder to convince – his son or himself.

Nate was not impressed. “Dad, you don’t know the whole story,” he remarked.

It took every ounce of Clint’s patience and paternal instinct to not shout at the top of his lungs that the ‘whole story’ had changed his entire life and no one, least of all a six-year-old child, could understand what he went through. He remained silent and stiff as board as they lay side by side, Clint still clutching his son’s hand.

Nate realized he overstepped. Since he didn’t want to further upset his father, the rest of the evening’s conversations were limited to neutral topics like school, sports, and his Christmas list.

After a sleepless night, the Vormir conversation with Nate rattling around his head, Clint turned off Laura’s alarm and prepared to get the kids ready for school. When he entered Lila’s room he was surprised to see Cooper and Nate sitting on the bed with her, all three whispering excitedly at the open laptop. He could hear equally excited whispers coming out of the laptop.

“… think Uncle Bruce has her number, just don’t mention Uncle Thor…”  
“… Dr. Pym, Dr. Selvig, Dr. Strange …”  
“… your dad and Hope at the library …”  
“… an even older legend…”

Clint cleared his throat. Loudly.

Click! Cooper slammed laptop closed. “G’morning, Daddy,” said Lila sweetly.

“G’morning yourself,” clipped Clint. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.

The three siblings quickly exchanged guilty looks with each other and wordlessly determined that Cooper should speak for all of them.

“No big deal,” he said casually. “Just Skyping with some friends before school.” 

Clint narrowed his gaze and offered up a glare he used many times during interrogations at SHIELD. “You couldn’t wait until you got to school to talk with them?”

“Well, we won’t see them at school,” Lila answered.

“Today! We won’t see them at school today,” Nate added quickly, while elbowing her side.

Clint looked at his children. They were his world. They were Laura’s world. They were a huge part of what Natasha sacrificed herself for. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for them. That didn’t mean they were angels, though.

“We’re tabling this discussion until tonight. Go grab your lunches and get in the truck,” ordered Clint.

“Ok,” they said in unison and gathered their things. As they left the room, each Barton child gave their father a tight hug. He watched them descend the old stairs. No pushing, no shoving, no arguing, no whining. Oh, something was definitely up and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

When Clint returned from dropping the kids off at school, Laura greeted him with a hot cup of coffee and a kiss. “Thanks for taking drop-off duty today, even though you didn’t get any sleep last night, did you?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“No, I didn’t,” he mumbled. “Have you noticed anything different about the kids lately?” he asked his wife as he stared into the depths of his coffee.

”You mean the lack of tattle-telling, the cooperation, the closed-door conversations, and secret texts? Nope, haven’t noticed,” quipped his wife as she coyly sipped her coffee.

Clint looked up at her, his eyes wide. “Tell me again why you didn’t work for SHIELD?”

She giggled. “First of all, SHIELD had a no fraternization policy, so…” she dragged out the last word. “And second of all, I’m their mother. I know things.” She winked.

Clint raised his cup in a toast to her before taking a big sip of the hot liquid. “So, what are they up to?”

Laura took a deep breath and spelled out what she knew for sure. “Cooper has been talking to Cassie Lang. A lot. And Lila has been in contact with Harley Keener. I think they’re clinging to each other, supporting each other. Kids their own age going through a similar trauma. They really have no precedent for this kind of thing, ya know?” She instantly diverted her eyes from his. Of course he knew.

“Anyway,” she returned her gaze to his face, “I think it’s a good thing for them to talk and stay connected. Do you agree?”

“I can’t even deal with Lila and the Keener boy ri-“

“Clint,” Laura interrupted. “Don’t. He’s a good kid. They’re friends going through grief. I’ll keep an eye on ‘things’,” she smirked as she exaggerated her air quotes. “I’d rather have you focus on yourself right now,” she added.

“Mmm,” he grunted. “What about Nate?”

“What about him?”

“He asked me about Vormir last night,” he said barely above a whisper.

Laura put down her coffee cup and titled her head with a quizzical expression on her face.

Now it was Clint’s turn to look away. That was a patented Natasha move. He was certain Laura wasn’t even aware she was doing it, but it was instantly painful.

“I specifically told the kids not to mention that,” she said as she covered one of his hands with hers.

“I know, I know,” he reassured her. “That wasn’t what bothered me, though.” He took a sip of coffee and heaved a heavy sigh before continuing. “Nate said that he, no, they, needed to know everything about Vormir so they could get Nat back. He said I didn’t know the whole story.”

Laura gasped.

“What do you think he meant, babe?” he pleaded.

Laura put her head in her hands and started to cry.

“Laura?” Clint said as he leaned in closer to her from across the table.

She lifted her head and wiped away the tears as more poured from her eyes. “A few weeks ago, while you were back at the compound collecting what little was left of Nat’s things, Nate came to me in the middle of the night. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. He told me that ‘Auntie Nat is still kinda alive, but she can’t get back to this universe.’ I told him it was just a dream and let him crawl into bed with me. It happened every night you were gone,” she sobbed.

Clint heard everything she said, but still didn’t understand what it meant.

She continued. “He insisted it wasn’t a dream. He said he never saw her, he just felt her. Like she was here… but not. When you came back, he stopped mentioning it. I just assumed it was happening because you weren’t here. But, what if…” she trailed off, unsure of what she was thinking.

They sat in silence until a hard knock at the door caused them to jump in surprise.

The Barton front porch had seen its share of oddities over the past few years, but this scene would be tough to top. On the other side of the door was Pepper Potts with Morgan in her arms. Dr. Stephen Strange and Shuri flanked her on either side. Behind them stood Scott and Cassie Lang, Wanda, Harley Keener, and the massive Bruce Banner.

“What in the actual fu-“

Laura quickly regained her composure and interrupted her husband. “Welcome to our home, everyone,” she announced as she shot Clint a threatening glance and opened the screen door.

Pepper was clearly the ambassador of the group, and rightly so. Still, she seemed to be just as shocked to be there as the Barton’s were to see her. “Laura and Clint, it’s so lovely to see you both,” she gushed as she leaned in to hug Laura with the arm not holding Morgan. “I’m very sorry to show up on your doorstep unannounced, but when you travel with wizards…” She let her sentence hang in the air as she shrugged her shoulders and motioned her head toward Dr. Strange. 

“Oh, please. You all know you’re welcome here any time,” Laura rattled as she held the door open for everyone streaming into the house. “I’m going to guess this isn’t a casual social call, though.”

“The world can’t possibly need saving already,” snarked Clint. “And if it does, you can count me out. I don’t have anything left to give.”

Wanda approached Clint slowly. She reached out to grasp his hand and he yanked it away as if she’d burned him. “Wanda, don’t. Don’t do that,” he snapped.

“I’m sorry, Clint,” she whispered and dropped her hands to her sides. “You may want to sit down, though.” She turned to Laura. “You, too.”

“No. Just say what you came here to say,” Clint growled.

Wanda nodded her head and turned to Dr. Strange. “Stephen, you’re up,” she said as she patted his shoulder on her way to stand with the others.

The Sorcerer Supreme took a cleansing breath and began to speak to the Barton’s. 

“Clint and Laura, I’m not one for sugarcoating. We’re here because your children, along a few other willing participants,” he sent an icy glare in the direction of the Lang’s and Harley, “have opened a Pandora’s box of possibility. It seems they did some diligent digging, called upon some heavy hitters, and may even have had some help from beyond the grave, so to speak.”

Laura and Clint exchanged worried looks. “Does this have something to do with Nat?” Laura rasped.

“It has everything to do with her,” Dr. Strange replied.

With that admission, the Barton’s sunk into the couch behind them. Clint’s face turned a ghostly white and his hands began to shake.

“What have they done? Are they in danger?” Clint felt his world crumbling around him again.

“No danger. For them, anyway,” Dr. Strange added. “But they have presented some fascinating evidence and piqued the interest of a few brilliant minds. There’s a theory gaining traction that Natasha could be brought back to our time and place. And, as much as I hate to say it, the plan has merit.”

There was awkward silence in the room as eyes shifted from hero to hero.

Finally, Scott piped up. “Um, I’m kinda like the guy who officially names our plans,” he said while genuinely smiling and bobbing his head. “And this one I’ve dubbed Operation: Splinter and Splice.” He held up his hand to get a high five slap. Nobody moved. Cassie grabbed his arm and shook her head.

Clint bowed his head and wrung his hands. “This… this isn’t happening, right? I mean…” He bolted up from the couch, he eyes enraged. “I couldn’t stop Natasha from sacrificing herself for that damned stone. I watched her break free of my grasp, I watched her free fall, I watched her hit the canyon floor. I. WATCHED. HER. DIE!” his booming voice cracked on the last word and tears streamed down his face. “Believe me,” he growled, “she’s not coming back from that.” 

He ran his hands across the back of his neck as he paced back and forth in front of everyone.

“So you can take your theory and your plan and splice it up your ass while you leave my home!” He turned around to walk into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. He was face to face with his three children.

Lila ran and hugged him around the waist. As she sobbed into his flannel shirt, she pleaded, “We can have Auntie Nat back, Dad. Please listen to the plan.”

Cooper took Nate’s hand and sat down next to Laura. After stealing a quick glance at Cassie, he asked, “Do you believe us, Mom?”

Through her own tears, Laura nodded. “Ya know what, Coop? I do. With everything that’s happened to all of us, it would be silly for any of us to dismiss this outright.” She turned to Dr. Strange while waving her hand behind her to bring her daughter, and hopefully her husband, back to the couch. “Please continue.”

Lila pulled on Clint’s hand and he couldn’t deny her request. They joined the rest of the family on the couch.

“I’m sorry, I know this is heartbreaking for all of you,” Dr. Strange began. “That’s why Wong and I have spent our days reading tomes that haven’t seen the light of day in centuries. That’s why we’ve called in favors from across the world. That’s why this motley crew stands before you today. I believe we’ve found a loophole, or at least a very narrow window of opportunity, that will bring Natasha back to our dimension.”

A heavy sigh escaped Clint. “Enough with the dramatics, doc. What’s the fu… sorry. What’s the plan?”

Dr. Strange motioned to Lila. “Would you like to tell him?”

Lila nodded her head. To everyone’s surprise, she got off the couch and stood next to Dr. Strange.

“So, at first, me, Nate, and Coop just felt, like really sad about losing Auntie Nat. And seeing you and Mom,” she waved her finger back and forth, “crying all the time, too, it was hard. We talked to each other a lot and to Ms. Pepper,” Lila acknowledged Pepper and Morgan with a smile and little wave, which Morgan returned. “She put us in contact with Cassie and Harley so we could all talk about all this stuff with each other.” If Lila felt the rosy blush that appeared on her cheeks, she didn’t let on.

“Then one day a few months ago, I got this weird feeling. Not bad,” she added quickly. “Just weird. Like I wasn’t alone in my room. A few minutes later Cooper came in and said he felt something weird, too. Later that night was when Nate freaked out and ran into your room, Mom. Remember? Well, he was the one who realized it was Auntie Nat.” 

Laura nodded and encouraged her daughter to continue.

“Turns out, it couldda been around that time that Uncle Steve returned the stone to Vormir. So we started wondering if, since the stone was back, was she alive?”

She paused to catch her breath and noticed her dad staring at her with wide eyes. She smiled at him and continued.

“That’s how everybody here got involved. We let Pepper know what we were thinking and she got Uncle Bruce on board.” She turned to give Bruce a smile and a wave. “Then we got in touch with Wanda who called Dr. Strange who did most of the reading and research and asked Shuri to help out.” Lila acknowledged Shuri with a fist bump. “And Cassie brought her dad into it since he did the Time Heist stuff.” Scott gave two thumbs up to Lila from the back of the room.

“We think that there was a split second of confusion for the Soul stone from when Auntie Nat,” she paused and took a deep breath, “died and Uncle Steve put it back. Like, the stone wasn’t really sure if she had to die, since it wasn’t going anywhere? But then again, Dad already had it to continue the time line that destroys Thanos, right?” She looked back for confirmation from everyone, but her eyes landed on Harley. He smiled and nodded enthusiastically at her. She smiled back. This time she certainly felt the blush.

“So, since the stone was with Dad AND safely on Vormir – AT THE SAME TIME!” she yelled and waved her hands, “Auntie Nat didn’t have to be dead! So she was kinda ‘released’ and now she’s in some kind of limbo or middle dimension. And we think, if we get back to that exact split second of confusion, we can snatch her back before she either dies again or gets trapped in the inbetween!”

“Oh, the inbetween, like the upside down. Nice!” Scott whispered loudly.

Clint’s head was spinning. “Ok, so look, honey. As impressive as all that is, you have to understand that your Auntie Nat… ugh, she was prepared to… to die… so we could all be here again. Don’t you think… she might… not want anyone else getting hurt to rescue her?” 

“After everything you told us, Dad, we considered that for a while,” Cooper answered. “We all talked about it and wrote out the pros and cons. We even sorta meditated on it. We tried to connect with her in the inbetween. It was always a positive feeling when we asked if she wanted to come home. I think she was ok with being dead, but if she didn’t have to be, she’d rather be here with us.”

“Coop’s right. So, Dr. Strange thinks he has one shot at getting to the exact place and time using a portal. Wanda will go to make sure Uncle Steve, Dad, and Nat don’t see anything that might stop them from doing what they were doing back then. That will keep the timeline in place. Shuri will go and be the one to actually snag Nat at the right time. Uncle Bruce and Mr. Lang will be suited up to jump in the old fashioned way with Pym particles if Dr. Strange can’t bring everyone back by portal. But if that happens,” she held out her hand to Clint and he took it, “we probably won’t have Auntie Nat and that will be it. Dr. Strange says the universe doesn’t get fooled twice.” She looked around at her parents, her brothers, and her friends. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

She was ok with being dead, but if she didn’t have to be, she’d rather be here with us. The words whirled around Clint’s head. Cooper was right. She would. And if Lila and the rest of the gathered brain trust were right and could pull this off, Natasha would be back home. Back with her family.

He turned to Laura and looked into her teary eyes. “Do we ground them before or after Operation: Splinter and Splice takes off?”

Lila lunged at her parents and embraced them with a tight hug. Cooper and Nate piled on. The others breathed a sigh of relief and began breaking into groups to coordinate their specific duties.

“I guess we’ll get an early dinner started,” said Laura. “Can’t travel through space and time on empty stomachs. Kids, go recruit your friends.” She winked at Lila. “They can help you set the table and get drinks out to everyone.”

“I’d like to help, too, Laura,” offered Pepper.

“Can I take Morgan to help me clean the corn on the cob?” asked Nate.

“That’s a great idea, Nate, thank you,” gushed Pepper. Morgan and Nate ran out of the room and out the kitchen door.

“C’mon, Pepper. I’ll pour us a glass of wine while we prep,” urged Laura.

Clint took in the scene around him. “Oh, Nat,” he whispered. “Look at all this. Now you’re a pain in everybody’s ass.” He was sure he felt a swat on the back of his head. He smiled and walked over to where Scott and Bruce were working.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner Laura, Pepper, and the youngest Avenger offspring prepared. Minds were hardly on food, though, and too soon Pepper and Laura were alone in the kitchen cleaning up. 

“Laura,” Pepper began. “I hope you don’t find this question too personal, but given what’s about to happen, I have to ask – what is your relationship with Natasha?”

Laura avoided Pepper’s gaze. She carefully folded the washcloth and hung it over the sink. She sighed then turned to Pepper. 

“Clint and I have known each other most of our lives. The early years were pretty shitty. I’m sure you know about his background and mine wasn’t much better. We met at the orphanage and kept in touch from foster home to foster home and beyond. He always promised me we’d make a family and give them the home life we never had. We overcame so many obstacles together and made that dream a reality. We just knew we’d always be together. I had his heart from the age of 12.”

Pepper smiled and nodded. She could tell their bond was an unusually strong one, which is why Natasha was a wild card in all of this.

“When SHIELD became Clint’s passion, I was so proud. And then Cooper came along,” she smiled at the memory. “And then on the evening I was going to tell him about being pregnant with Lila, he came home with this wildly gorgeous red head. They looked so comfortable together – even back then. I instantly went on the defense. But, she held out her hand to me and said, ‘My name is Natalia. You have nothing to worry about. You married an idiot.’”

Both women burst into laughter. 

“We got to know Nat together. She needed help – lots of help. And in some ways, so did Clint and I. We all helped each other grow, mature, and become better people. She helped Clint see the best parts of himself. She made him a better person in ways I never could. And for that alone, I’d scour the universe for her. 

“She was there when Lila was born and, of course, Nate is her namesake. She’s as much a part of our family as any of our children. It probably seems odd to outsiders, but it all boils down to this: I have Clint’s heart and she, ironically, has Clint’s soul. Without both of us in his life, he’s not a whole person.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Getting Nat back will complete my husband and my family.”

Pepper embraced her tightly and she could immediately feel the warm tears on her shoulder.

“Y’know, Pepper,” she cleared her throat as she pulled from the hug. “Like it or not, you and Morgan are also part of our family now. We are always here for you and our home is always here if you need to get away… from your mansion, or whatever…” she trailed off.

Pepper laughed and also cried even harder as she went in for another hug. “You give the best hugs,” she sobbed.

“That’s what Natasha says,” Laura chuckled.

Lila appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. “Excuse me, Mom and Pepper, they’re ready,” she said nervously.

Laura and Pepper left the relative calm of the kitchen and joined the chaos in the next room.

The Barton living room and front porch had become mission central. Computers and gadgets of all shapes, sizes, and sounds littered every corner. Bruce sat in place while Scott jumped over wires and flipped switches in some sort of high tech ballet, while Shuri barked orders and directed him to his next step. 

Nate and Morgan sat on the steps overlooking the scene. They pointed, whispered to each other, and kept a very close watch on everything going on. When they saw their mothers looking at them, they motioned excitedly for the women to join them.

As Laura climbed the stairs, she saw Clint. He was leaning against the front door frame and staring straight ahead. He could’ve been focused on any of the activities taking place in front of him, but she could tell he wasn’t seeing any of it. He was fighting an inner battle. After more than 30 years together, she knew when to leave him to his own demons. Or, more accurately, when he needed Natasha to pull him out. This was one of those times. All she could do was pray this Operation: Splinter and Splice was successful.

Suddenly Shuri shouted above the noise. “Tech is ready! Tech is ready! Is the wizard ready?”

A hush fell over the room and people started moving toward pre-assigned locations. Bruce and Scott settled in behind computer monitors. Cassie gave her dad a kiss on the cheek as she passed by him on her way to the edge of the living room. She stood between Cooper and Lila, taking his hand and putting her other arm around Lila’s shoulder. The three were embraced from behind in the wide span of Harley’s arms. 

“Where is the wizard?” Shuri asked again, her patience wearing thin.

Wanda appeared behind Clint and guided him just inside the doorway. Behind Wanda appeared the glowing body of Dr. Strange. He hovered an inch off the floor and glided smoothly over the threshold. 

“We’ve had this discussion, young lady,” he admonished. “Sorcerer Supreme.”

“Humpff,” she sighed. “Are you done with your yoga or whatever wizards… sorry, sorcerers… do to prepare for inter-dimensional time jumps?”

“Wanda and I are ready, yes. And your tech wizards – are they ready?” he snarked.

Shuri smirked and nodded in appreciation for his subtle dig. “Ready when you are.”

Dr. Strange turned to Clint. “Remember, Clint, you need to stay here,” he emphasized. “It’s too traumatizing for you to relive this. And it’s going to get pretty crowded on that cliff. Even the slightest distraction could set the timing off – and cause the rescue to fail. Got it?”

Clint hated being spoken to like a child. And he really hated that he was being left behind. Just the thought of Vormir chilled him to his bones, so he knew he was more of a liability than an asset. Which is why he nodded and offered his hand to Dr. Strange. “Good luck. Bring her back to us, doc.”

The sorcerer turned toward the front door and began moving his hands in small circles. Within seconds, a yellow halo formed and grew to encompass the door and most of the wall on either side. The front porch faded away into a purple-blue horizon. 

Dr. Strange stepped through the portal and disappeared. 

“Synchronize on my mark,” Shuri said to Bruce. She joined hands with Wanda and together they stepped into the portal. “Mark!” And they were gone.

For a moment the only sound was the soft humming of the generators that were powering all of the equipment. Then…

Voices. Coming from the portal. Soft, muffled, frantic voices. 

Clint couldn’t take it any longer. He bolted to the portal.

And was plowed down by a petite figure clad in all black. The force of the impact sent both bodies hurtling across the living room floor, over the wires, in front of the stairs, into the kitchen, and slammed the tangled mess of limbs into the pantry.

Before anyone could move, Wanda and Shuri jumped back into the room. Shuri began shouting instructions to Bruce and Scott. The portal began to shrink. There was no sign of Dr. Strange. 

Pots and pans continued to clatter in the kitchen while Shuri barked out numbers. Morgan began to cry on the stairs. Harley’s grip tightened around his three best friends. Everyone held a collective breath as the portal got smaller and smaller.

Suddenly, a ribbon of red began to stream through the shrinking hole. It looked like a rope involved in a tug-o-war. It would move two feet more into the living room and then lose another foot back to the portal. With a flourish, the red ribbon folded in half and stuck its top portion back into the portal. A second later, Dr. Strange was flung from the portal by his cape. He landed in a heap at Wanda’s and Shuri’s feet. His cape came to rest on top of him like a blanket, as the portal disappeared.

Everyone exchanged glances, completely unsure of what had just happened.

“Umm, you’re welcome?” snarked Shuri.

With that, everyone moved at once. It was a mass of humanity that dodged the time travelers and moved from the living room into the kitchen.

At the far end of the kitchen, covered in flour and Cheerios from the collapsed pantry shelves, sat a sobbing Clint Barton clutching a sobbing Natasha Romanoff to his chest as she rested in his lap. And the sobbing became contagious. 

Tears flowed freely as Lila ran over and wrapped her arms around Natasha’s neck. Nate wriggled his way onto her lap and Cooper embraced both Clint and Nat in a bear hug.

Pepper held Morgan against her hip while her other hand held Laura’s as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. Wanda came up behind Laura and wrapped her arms around Laura’s shoulders. She leaned back into Wanda’s embrace and sobbed even harder.

After a few minutes, the adrenaline rushes began to subside and the sobbing lessened to a few stray tears. Natasha was untangled from the Barton children, but Clint would not move away from her. She didn’t mind. 

Laura made her way over and wrapped Natasha in a fierce hug. They exchanged no words. They didn’t have to. Their love and appreciation for one another was written all over their faces. 

When they pulled apart, Laura held strong to Nat’s hand while she addressed her children. “Happiest of happy endings aside, you do realize what your punishment is for going behind our backs, right?”

Heads bowed, but smiles still plastered on their faces, the three Barton children replied in unison, “Yes, ma’am…”

“Well, get to it. The sooner you get this kitchen cleaned up, the sooner you can start making up for lost time with your Auntie Nat. And…” she turned to Cassie and Harley. “I’m not your parent, but I feel like you need to pitch in since you were as much a part of this as my crew.” 

She received a much more enthusiastic “Yes, ma’am” this time.

“I want to help, too!” exclaimed Morgan.

“Oh, you don’t have…” began Laura.

“Yes, Morgan, you should go help your friends, too,” agreed Pepper. 

Nate immediately handed Morgan the dustpan from his broom and they proceeded to do nothing but spread the mess around. And nobody seemed to mind one bit.

Two Weeks Later

The evening was too cold for casual stargazing, but that didn’t stop Clint and Nat from making their nightly trek out to the field. Sometimes they talked all night. Sometimes they didn’t speak at all.

“Ya know, those kids of yours are the real heroes of this story,” Natasha said after a few minutes.

“Well, the main character did sacrifice herself to save half of humanity. So let’s say same book, different chapter,” responded Clint.

Natasha playfully punched his shoulder. “I’m serious. I owe them my life, which is too bad because you have first dibs on it,” she said.

Suddenly serious, Clint asked, “Why, Nat? Why did you do it?” 

She knew exactly what he was asking about.

“It’s what I was meant to do. And I’d do it all over again. If it brought back our family, our friends, all the lost people – it was worth it. And…”

When she didn’t continue Clint thought she might have fallen asleep. “And…” he asked.

“And, I couldn’t bare the thought of having to look into Lila’s eyes and know I robbed her of her daddy,” she whispered.

Clint wrapped his arms around her. “I know that feeling," he sighed. "Lila and the boys… God, Nat, they love you so much. So much that they told the supernatural laws of the universe to fuck off and brought you back.”

She relaxed into his embrace with a chuckle. “There’s no denying those kids are yours.”

“Yeah, well, you’re an easy person to love. The kids, Laura, the Avengers… the list goes on and on. You are so loved, Nat. I need you to know that,” Clint mused.

“I do know that,” she admitted.

“And you know… that… well, I…,” he choked.

She pulled out of his arms and looked him in the eye, “I know that, too.” She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and snuggled back into his arms. “Right back at you.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, you must know - this is as far out of my comfort zone as I've ever been since diving into fan fic. When I read the assignment, I wondered (some may say stressed over) how I was going to come up with 1,000 words for the Barton family. I had no idea what to do. Then I went to see End Game again. And there they were at the end: the kids, all the kids.They were the key. I started approaching this from a very simple, child-like perspective and 5,000+ words later, here we are. Nobody is more surprised than I am. I hope you enjoyed it and that it satisfied your Natasha + Barton family "fix it" request.


End file.
